Geoff Brumfielhttp://northernpublicradio.org
enDark Pluto Bares Its Hearthttp://northernpublicradio.org/post/dark-pluto-bares-its-heart
<p>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AbiygSo478</p>Fri, 24 Jul 2015 21:14:00 +0000Geoff Brumfiel68518 at http://northernpublicradio.orgStrange Worlds At The Edge Of Our Solar System Finally Come Into Focushttp://northernpublicradio.org/post/strange-worlds-edge-our-solar-system-finally-come-focus
Scientists have unveiled the best photos of Pluto and its moons that humanity is likely to see for at least a generation. These images were taken Tuesday by NASA's New Horizons space probe as it hurtled past Pluto at more than 30,000 miles per hour.<p>Since its discovery in 1930, Pluto has revealed itself to be an oddball world. It's smaller than our own moon, and it orbits at an angle relative to the plane of the solar system.Wed, 15 Jul 2015 19:42:00 +0000Geoff Brumfiel68067 at http://northernpublicradio.orgStrange Worlds At The Edge Of Our Solar System Finally Come Into FocusPlanet Or Not, Icy Pluto To Finally Get Its Day In The Sunhttp://northernpublicradio.org/post/planet-or-not-icy-pluto-finally-get-its-day-sun
Alice Bowman <a href="http://www.jhuapl.edu/employment/meet/bowman.asp">oversees daily operations</a> for NASA's mission to Pluto. Her language is peppered with technical terms — like "astronomical units" and "aim points."<p>But there's one piece of scientific nomenclature you won't hear coming from Bowman's lips: dwarf planet.<p>"Pluto is a planet," she says.Mon, 13 Jul 2015 18:48:00 +0000Geoff Brumfiel67938 at http://northernpublicradio.orgPlanet Or Not, Icy Pluto To Finally Get Its Day In The SunPluto-Bound Spacecraft Nears Its Quarryhttp://northernpublicradio.org/post/pluto-bound-spacecraft-nears-its-quarry
It has taken nearly a decade and 3 billion miles to get there, but scientists are about to get their first look at Pluto.<p>The <a href="http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/">New Horizons</a> spacecraft is closing fast on the tiny world once thought to be at the edge of our solar system. On Tuesday the probe will begin an intensive nine-day scientific study of Pluto and its moons.<p>It has been a long time coming. New Horizons was launched in 2006.Mon, 06 Jul 2015 07:45:00 +0000Geoff Brumfiel67567 at http://northernpublicradio.orgPluto-Bound Spacecraft Nears Its QuarryRussian Rocket Poised For Crucial Supply Run To Space Stationhttp://northernpublicradio.org/post/russian-rocket-poised-crucial-supply-run-space-station
<p>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCWunnJXdm0</p><p>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r9zq6pMP00</p>Thu, 02 Jul 2015 17:37:00 +0000Geoff Brumfiel67445 at http://northernpublicradio.orgRussian Rocket Poised For Crucial Supply Run To Space StationNASA Satellites Show World's Thirst For Groundwaterhttp://northernpublicradio.org/post/nasa-satellites-show-worlds-thirst-groundwater
New data from NASA's <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/Grace/#.VYGYk_m6fcs">GRACE satellites</a> show that many of the world's biggest aquifers are being sucked dry at a rate far greater than they are being replenished.Wed, 17 Jun 2015 17:03:00 +0000Geoff Brumfiel66677 at http://northernpublicradio.orgNASA Satellites Show World's Thirst For GroundwaterThe Pentagon Wants These Robots To Save The Dayhttp://northernpublicradio.org/post/pentagon-wants-these-robots-save-day
On Friday, 24 robots and their masters will be going head-to-head in California for a $2 million prize. <a href="http://www.theroboticschallenge.org/">The robotics challenge</a> is sponsored by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).<p>Those fearing the Pentagon-sponsored prize could signal the dawn of <em>Terminator</em>-style cyborgs needn't worry. "Even though they look like us, and they may look a little bit mean, there's really nothing inside," says Gill Pratt, the program manager running this competition.Fri, 05 Jun 2015 07:37:00 +0000Geoff Brumfiel66105 at http://northernpublicradio.orgThe Pentagon Wants These Robots To Save The DayScientists Cast Doubt On An Apparent 'Hiatus' In Global Warminghttp://northernpublicradio.org/post/scientists-cast-doubt-apparent-hiatus-global-warming
A team of government scientists has revised its estimate for how much the planet has been warming.<p>The new results, <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aaa5632">published</a> in the journal <em>Science,</em> may dispel the idea that Earth has been in the midst of a "global warming hiatus" — a period over the past 20 years where the planet's temperature appears to have risen very little.<p>"We think the data no longer supports the notion of having a hiatus," says <a href="https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/about/welcomefromdirector.html">Tom Karl</a>, a scientist with the Thu, 04 Jun 2015 23:19:00 +0000Geoff Brumfiel66099 at http://northernpublicradio.orgScientists Cast Doubt On An Apparent 'Hiatus' In Global WarmingCDC Investigates Live Anthrax Shipmentshttp://northernpublicradio.org/post/cdc-investigates-live-anthrax-shipments
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still trying to figure out how the military managed to ship anthrax spores that were apparently live from one of its facilities to more than a dozen labs across the United States.<p>"We have a team at the [military] lab to determine what may have led to this incident," says <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/">CDC</a> spokesman Jason McDonald.Thu, 28 May 2015 21:49:00 +0000Geoff Brumfiel65764 at http://northernpublicradio.orgCDC Investigates Live Anthrax ShipmentsAfter 25 Years, The Hubble Space Telescope Still Wows Humanityhttp://northernpublicradio.org/post/after-25-years-hubble-space-telescope-still-wows-humanity
<p>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki6kQT7YPQY</p>Fri, 24 Apr 2015 07:56:00 +0000Geoff Brumfiel64089 at http://northernpublicradio.orgAfter 25 Years, The Hubble Space Telescope Still Wows Humanity